Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH)

The environmental and consumer protection organization DUH enforces environmental laws. Among other things, it campaigns for effective climate protection measures, clean air to protect the population, and against the use of pesticides that are harmful to health and the environment.

Climate lawsuits

After the 2015 climate agreement failed to deliver the expected results, citizens and civil society organizations are now taking legal action against governments and companies that disregard climate protection targets. The aim of the lawsuits is to secure binding measures to still achieve the 1.5-degree target.

In its 2021 ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court declared climate protection to be a matter of intergenerational justice: today’s generations must not emit so much CO₂ that future generations have to bear too great a burden in reducing emissions. Legislators must take action to combat climate change, and legal regulations must not postpone high emission reduction burdens to periods after 2030.

Based on this ruling, the DUH is bringing strategic climate lawsuits against automotive companies and Wintershall DEA.

Air pollution control

The German Environmental Aid Association (DUH) has successfully enforced clean air plans in many German cities through its lawsuits. Since uncovering diesel emissions fraud, the DUH has been able to prove fraud by numerous car manufacturers using its own emissions measurements and force them to retrofit their vehicles. It has also exposed the disastrous role played by the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the inaction of several transport ministers, and is taking legal action against them.

Pesticide lawsuits

Pesticides are used in agriculture in a variety of ways but always with one goal in mind: to prevent fungi, insects, or mites from taking over and damaging crops. They ensure that food looks flawless, but they harm biodiversity and spread through the air and water into almost all habitats—even into our food and our bodies.

The DUH is campaigning for a ban on dangerous pesticides to protect humans and biodiversity from their harmful effects.

Why we support the DUH

When it comes to air pollution control measures, the DUH is committed to protecting public health, as the majority of nitrogen oxides to which people are exposed come primarily from pollutants emitted by diesel engines. Older people in particular are more vulnerable to these pollutants and therefore need special protection. In the interests of public health, the DUH campaigns for compliance with legally established limits.

We have been supporting the DUH since 2016.